When we think of meditation, we usually consider it to be a personal practice and journey that we embark on alone and commit to for our own individual reasons. Whilst this might be the initial intention, it's rarely the sole outcome. We don't live our lives individually; we're constantly engaging with others in a variety of communities. And so, how can something that has the potential to transform the way we live do so without impacting and being impacted by those same communities?
Although meditation and mindfulness have soared in popularity in the West, with the number of people practising meditation tripling in the last decade, their potential in society is still widely under-recognised. Community and meditation are a two-way relationship, and as we look at the ways both can benefit from and encourage the other to grow, you may perhaps feel compelled to expand your practice and even consider how it could change not just you but the world.
The Power of a Shared Experience
Many of us find that turning meditation into a habit is one of our biggest challenges. Despite being aware of its many benefits, we struggle to dedicate a short period of time to stepping out of the unconscious flow of our everyday life to meditate on a regular basis. This is where community can help. It can be a powerful tool to help us overcome our obstacles to building a regular habit and provide us with the support and accountability we need to successfully incorporate meditation into our lives.
Community meditation doesn't necessarily mean being physically in the same space to meditate at the same time – although this can also create a powerful shared energy that you may feel aids you in your meditation. Building a community around your practice can be as simple as agreeing to hold space once a week to discuss any shifts you've experienced through meditation. Not only will this regular discussion give you the accountability to encourage you to keep up your practice, but it also provides you with a safe space to open up about what meditation is bringing up for you and others on the same journey.
A Mindful Movement
Meditation and community have a synergistic relationship. As the community supports individuals in exploring how they show up in the world through meditation, so is the individual improving the community through how they intentionally show up in it, too.
Meditation and mindfulness give us the tools to be more present, including when we communicate. This can help us truly hear and see the people we're engaging with, and when each member actively listens to and understands each other, that community has further means to flourish.
Mindfulness also helps us better understand the dynamics of a community; it allows us to distinguish between individual and group agendas and to empathise with the needs and beliefs of others so that we can think critically whilst acting compassionately. With awareness, individuals are able to challenge their own beliefs and free themselves of attachments, defences, and judgements so that a shared collective consciousness can guide and transform the community.
The Domino Effect
Meditation has the potential to benefit not just the immediate community but the wider one and even the world as a whole. The philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti once said, "What you are, the world is. And without your transformation, there can be no transformation of the world." Although this may sound grandiose, isn't it really just logic? Our individual choices and small behaviours can and do make a difference in the lives of those around us, so where does this domino effect end?
There’s a hypothetical phenomenon called the 'Hundredth Monkey Effect.' This is when "a new behaviour or idea is spread rapidly by unexplained means from one group to all related groups once a critical number of members of one group (the hundredth monkey) exhibits the new behaviour or acknowledges the new idea." It's long been thought that this concept is more theory than fact. However, more recent studies have observed that when ideas or behaviours spread to enough people, a tipping point occurs. Then the idea or behaviour will circulate like a contagion and become commonplace in society.
When it comes to changing the world, most of us look far and wide for a way to make a difference when, in fact, the answer begins a lot closer to home. Instead of searching for change externally, we can start to change the world by first changing ourselves and how we show up in the world.
Meditation on an individual level and incorporating mindfulness into your own everyday life have the power to make a global difference. Practising and sharing the benefits of meditation with others may inspire them to embark on their own journey of self-discovery, and who knows, maybe one day we'll reach the hundredth monkey.
